Testimonial for Bruce Ratcliffe by Stephen Potts - 21Oct2015
1. 86 Taman Nakhoda
Villa Delle Rose
Singapore 257786
21st
October 2015
To Whom It May Concern
Re: Testimonial – Bruce Ratcliffe
It was my pleasure to work with Bruce Ratcliffe when he was Regional Therapy Area
Group Director for Metabolic, Cardiovascular and Urology at GlaxoSmithkline. At the
time, I was Head of Healthcare Research for TNS in APAC. In his role, Bruce set up
a Regional Diabetes Hub, a cross-functional team including GSK personnel from
different disciplines as well as agency representatives from research, PR and
communications. This Hub met for 2-3 days, quarterly, and ensured that his agencies
were fully informed of the business challenges that GSK were facing and were
empowered to recommend activities to create positive change. It also meant that
GSK team members were so involved in the insight and communications process that
they were able to affect it, ensuring internal buy-in into any outputs that were
generated.
I first became involved in the Regional Diabetes Hub when Bruce presented TNS with
a challenge. After 5 years on the market, GSK’s leading Diabetes brand had still not
established itself as the Gold Standard and the Company needed insight into why
and what they could do to take the brand to the next level. TNS proposed an
innovative methodology involving duos with Specialists, and incorporating a variety of
project techniques rarely used in APAC in Healthcare. To Bruce’s credit, he took a
risk, recognized the need for an innovative approach and commissioned this
groundbreaking research. The ‘killer insights’ that resulted formed the basis for the
brand’s sales and marketing initiatives for the next 2 years. In particular, it allowed
Bruce to implement Belief Mapping. This involved a process whereby physicians’
current beliefs were understood in depth, through insights research. We then
identified the beliefs that we wanted them to hold for GSK’s diabetes portfolio to be
successful. And finally, we mapped how to shift their beliefs through a series of steps
and initiatives. Bruce championed this approach regionally, the first time that it had
been implemented in APAC to my knowledge, and it resulted in stronger levels of
brand trust and prescribing.
In our business, the words ‘insight’ and ‘partner’ have become so overused that they
have lost their meaning. In my 20 years of research agency experience, my time as a
member of the GSK Diabetes Hub was unique. No other client has invested in
‘insight’ to the same level, nor engaged me as a ‘partner’ so thoroughly. I felt truly
valued, which motivated me and my team to invest more in GSK Diabetes than we
would normally do for our Key Accounts.
Yours sincerely
